I don't agree. Under EASA-NCO there is a phrase about navigation means, which says "availability has to be guaranteed" or something along those lines. The AMCs specifically go into the subject of digital charts and other digital data and specify that these may be used BUT you have to consider the case where your digital device fails.
So if said pilot relied on his electronic device exclusively, and had no suitable backup in case of failure, the German officer may well be right.
The "map sucked out the window" argument is mostly idiotic, as far as I'm concerned. In your average spamcan a lot has to go wrong for that to happen, and if you're flying an open cockpit, microlight or other aircraft where the risk is real, you already considered this and either have a backup solution or made sure it can't happen. In any case, an iPad can also be sucked out the window, or dropped, or whatever. But a paper chart doesn't have any chance of becoming unavailable due to some internal hardware or software failure, or overheating, or running out of battery charge, or any of the other problems present in electronic devices.
Looking at my personal experience, both in an aviation and in non-aviation contexts, the number of times an electronic device somehow failed and became unavailable, either temporary or permanently, is much, much higher than the number of times a piece of paper somehow failed. So the concern of the authorities about failure of electronic navigation equipment and the need for a suitable backup are, IMO, entirely justified.
Last edited by BackPacker; 19th May 2013 at 22:05.